Claire Simeone, veterinarian, conservationist and director of our hospital in Hawai‘i, calls for opening our minds to a new kind of learning: between humans and animals.

As a Conservation Medicine Veterinarian, our Ke Kai Ola Hospital Director and now the first veterinarian to be selected as a TED Fellow, Dr. Claire Simeone works relentlessly to uncover the mysteries of marine mammal and ocean health to create a better world.

In April, Dr. Simeone joined 19 other change-makers from around the world on the TED stage in Vancouver. During her TED Talk, she shares that she has coined the term “zoognosis” to define the knowledge spread between humans and animals. And she explains that many diseases and issues that impact marine mammal health can also influence human health, and vice versa.

The Marine Mammal Center strives to not only rehabilitate and release marine mammals, but also to be a pioneer in veterinary medicine and protecting human health. “Our health and the health of our ocean rests on us understanding the importance of sharing this zoognosis,” Dr. Simeone concludes. “We must know our fauna to know ourselves.”